Retired Coast Guard captain named Norwich's 'Native Son' of 2018

Tuesday

NORWICH – A retired Coast Guard captain with 28 years of service and a long track record of community involvement has been named the 2018 Norwich Native Son Award honoree.

Ed Cubanski, who now resides in Saratoga Springs, N.Y., with his wife and children, will be presented with the 51st annual honor at a May 30 ceremony at Norwich’s Holiday Inn.

"I'm so humbled and honored. And then when I looked at the list of the previous honorees, I was even more humbled," Cubanski said.

The Native Son/Daughter award is presented by the Norwich Noontime Rotary Club, the Norwich Sunrise Rotary Club and the Norwich Woman's City Club and recognizes outstanding achievements by city natives who have made significant achievements while living outside the area. Selection Committee Chairman Mike Cooney said the group received a large amount of "highly qualified" nominees this year.

Cubanski said when he thinks about Norwich, he thinks about the city's historic significance and its civic activities. He particularly recalls his time in the Boy Scouts as a member of Troop 4 in Norwichtown.

Cubanski attended Norwich Public Schools and Norwich Technical High School, where he earned a bronze medal in the 1983 National Vocational Industrial Clubs of America and a silver medal in the 1984 competition. He graduated from Norwich Tech in 1984 with a concentration in electrical trades and began his career with the Coast Guard in 1988.

"It was the vo-tech teachers that really prepared me for my career," he said. "Those teachers challenged me to achieve."

He later completed Naval Flight School, and in 2006 became the executive officer at Air Station Atlantic City. Two years later he was made commanding officer at Air Station New Orleans.

In 2013, he was named sector commander of Long Island Sound, where he led over 2,600 active duty, reserve and auxiliary Coast Guard personnel in Connecticut and New York.

During his 28-year career, the Norwich native logged over 3,000 flight hours, received five service medals, three Coast Guard achievement medals and several other personal and unit awards.

And Cubanski’s volunteer work is almost as expansive as his career.

He served two years as executive vice president of the Lordship Father’s Club in Stratford, which supports community events, and led a five-year group effort dedicated to renovating a Louisiana school playground that had been severely damaged by Hurricane Katrina. Cubanski also coached six different youth soccer leagues for the school.

He has also been president of the New London Maritime Society since Nov. 2016.

He currently resides in Saratoga Springs, N.Y. with his wife Shirley and their two daughters Zoe and Lily. He works as an operations manager for FedEx Ground.

Tickets for the May 30 ceremony are $15 and will be available on NorwichRotary.org along with a complete list of the 50 preceding honorees.

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